under-discussed stories
Mattis Fishman (mattis@argos.argoscomp.com)
Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:21:12 -0500 (EST)
I just wanted to put in a good word for "Down at the Dinghy".
"Down at he Dinghy... oh right the kid who throws Uncle Seymour's glasses
into the lake," I hear you mumble. Lionel's mixture of bravado and
vulnerability, toughness and helplessness really tears me up.
That name, Lion-el, is so appropriate.
Ramona, in Uncle Wiggly, and Charles, in Esme, strike me in a similar
way.
Of course, it helps to have your own children to recognize that
this sub-species of homo sapiens leonensis is a rare breed combining
frustration and lovability. When I got my wife, Miss Literary Tramp
19.. (well let's not get too personal here, ok) to read this story,
it was all she could do to keep from shouting "that's Pinka!" (our
4 year old, the nickname is his coruption). We are fortunate that
his particular repetoire does not yet include running away.
All the best,
Mattis